JP2009270877A - Traveling route prediction guiding device, traveling route prediction guiding method, and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To predict a road supposed to be traveled from now by a vehicle, and to perform various attention guides at each guide spot in a traveling direction, when a route searching processing is not performed. <P>SOLUTION: This device 10 obtains present position information corresponding to movement of the vehicle, specifies link information of a road during traveling, setting it in an object link, and specifies object link attribute information which is a link attribute thereof. The device specifies node information from link information, specifies link information correlated with the node information, sets it in a traveling candidate link, and specifies traveling candidate link attribute information which is a link attribute thereof. Then, the device compares the object link attribute with traveling candidate link attribute, and determines a traveling prediction route supposed to be traveled from now. Further, the device specifies connection angle information between the object link and the traveling candidate link, determines whether the information is within a prescribed angle range or not, determines the traveling prediction route having a strong probability of being traveled, and specifies and outputs link guide information set in the traveling prediction route. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a route guidance technology that provides guidance on a travel route of a vehicle. More specifically, the present invention predicts a road that a vehicle is supposed to travel in the traveling direction when route search processing is not performed. The present invention relates to a travel route prediction / guidance device, a travel route prediction / guidance method, and a program for predicting a travel route that provide various caution guidance at a guidance point.

  Conventionally, a navigation system is known as a means for performing route search processing and route guidance processing that supports the arrival of a mobile object to a destination. This navigation system measures the position of a moving body by GPS (Global Positioning System), obtains a recommended moving path by route search processing based on the current position information of the moving body and road map information, and determines the recommended moving path. Based on this, automatic guidance (hereinafter referred to as “travel route prediction guidance”) such as various attention guidance at the guidance point on the movement route is performed. For example, in a vehicle equipped with a car navigation device (hereinafter referred to as “car navigation”), road map information and current position information of the vehicle are displayed on a display device (monitor), and a recommended travel route to the destination. By searching for and displaying it together on the display device, the route is visually notified. In addition, some car navigation systems have a function of notifying directions by hearing by outputting guidance voices.

  By the way, in such a car navigation system, on the basis of the recommended travel route obtained by the route search process, a road on which the vehicle is supposed to travel is identified and various caution guidance is performed at the guide point in the traveling direction. . Therefore, when the route search process is not performed, the road to be traveled is unknown, so that appropriate caution guidance cannot be performed at the guidance point.

  In addition, if all the guidance guidance in the direction of travel is performed when the route search process is not being performed, there are many opportunities for guidance guidance regarding roads on which the vehicle does not travel, and the user is given unnecessary guidance guidance. May be confused. Moreover, if attention guidance is frequently performed, the guidance may be bothersome and uncomfortable, and too much attention guidance may reduce attention and may lead to a lack of recognition of the necessary guidance guidance. There is not preferable.

In view of this, several means have been proposed that eliminate the annoyance of frequent information presentation and present only the information necessary for the user.
For example, a range is set according to the vehicle speed in the traveling direction from the current position, landmark information within a predetermined angle and distance range in the traveling direction, landmark information around the guidance intersection, and landmarks are displayed as landmarks. There is a technology. (See Patent Document 1).
Also, it is determined whether the vehicle speed is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, and if it is determined that the vehicle speed is greater than or equal to the predetermined value, the displayed landmark information is erased, and the landmark information in the direction of travel from the current position or around the intersection There is a technique for displaying the landmark information and the landmark information along the route. (See Patent Document 2).
JP-A-10-333562 Japanese Patent No. 3307530

However, the techniques described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 both provide appropriate guidance on the assumption that the route is calculated by route search processing. Therefore, when the route search process is not performed, the road that the vehicle is supposed to travel from is predicted and various attention guidance is not performed at the guidance point in the traveling direction.
As described above, no means has been proposed so far for performing various attention guidance at the guidance point in the traveling direction when the route search processing is not performed.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and when a route search process is not being performed, predicts a road on which the vehicle is supposed to travel and provides various caution guidance at a guide point in the direction of travel. The purpose is to provide a mechanism that can do this.

  The travel route prediction apparatus of the present invention is a travel route prediction guide device that predicts a road that a vehicle is supposed to travel from and performs various caution guidance in the traveling direction, and each specifies a link that indicates a road that can be traveled Information and position information thereof, first node information specifying a node indicating one end point of the road and position information thereof, second node information specifying a node indicating the other end point of the road and position information thereof The link attribute information such as the road type, the number of lanes, the width, the traffic regulation on the road, and the link guide specifying information for specifying various caution guides corresponding to the road are stored in association with each other and associated with each node information. Connection link information for identifying each link connected to this node, and connection angle information indicating the connection state, respectively. First storage means for storing; second storage means for storing the link guidance specifying information; and link guidance information for performing various types of caution guidance according to the road by voice or images, and the movement of the vehicle The vehicle position information receiving means for receiving the current position information according to the vehicle, the first storage means based on the current position information received by the vehicle position information receiving means, and the road on which the vehicle is traveling Target link information specifying means for specifying link information and setting it as a target link and specifying the link attribute information (hereinafter referred to as “target link attribute information”), and a target link in the target link attribute information specifying means After specifying the attribute information, continuously refer to the first storage means, specify the node information indicating the node connected to the traveling direction side end based on the link information, All link information associated with the node information is specified and set as a travel candidate link, and the link attribute information (hereinafter referred to as “travel candidate link attribute information”) is identified. Means, the target link attribute information specified by the target link attribute information specifying means, and all the travel candidate link attribute information specified by the travel candidate link information specifying means are respectively compared, and the same as the target link attribute information There is a link attribute determining means for determining the presence or absence of a first predicted travel path that will be traveled according to the presence or absence of the travel candidate link attribute information having the link attribute, and the link attribute determining means includes a first predicted travel path Is determined, the first storage means is referred to based on the link information of the travel candidate links corresponding to the first travel predicted route. Connection angle determining means for determining connection angle information and determining whether or not there is a second predicted travel route that determines that there is a high possibility of traveling according to whether the connection angle is within a predetermined angle range. When the connection angle determining means determines that there is a second travel predicted route, the link information of the link guidance specifying information is referred to by referring to the first storage means based on the link information of the travel candidate link corresponding to the second travel predicted route. When there is a setting, the link guidance specifying information is specified, the guidance information generating means for generating the predicted travel route guidance information based on the link guidance specifying information, and the predicted travel route guidance information generated by the guidance information generating means Based on the included link guide specifying information, the guide information extracting means for specifying and extracting the link guide information with reference to the second storage means, and the resource information extracted by the guide information extracting means. Guidance information output means for outputting the guidance information, and the target link information specifying means of the travel candidate link determined as the second predicted travel route for which the connection angle determination means is highly likely to travel from now on. The link information is further received as link information for specifying a running road.

  In the travel route prediction apparatus of the present invention, the first storage means further stores guide point position information for specifying a point for guidance in association with the link guidance specifying information, and stores the distance information and the distance information. Third storage means for storing the distance guidance specifying information for specifying the corresponding guidance in association with each other, fourth storage means for storing the distance guidance specifying information and the distance guidance information in association with each other, and the guidance According to the specific specification of the link guide specifying information in the information generating means, the guide point position information is specified by referring to the first storage means based on the link guide specifying information, and the guide point position information, Guidance point distance monitoring means for monitoring the distance between the vehicle and the guidance point from the current position information of the vehicle received by the host vehicle position information acceptance means, further comprising: The distance associated with the distance information indicating the predetermined distance with reference to the third storage unit when the distance monitored by the guide point distance monitoring unit approaches a predetermined distance set in advance by the information generating unit Guidance identification information is identified, travel prediction distance guidance information is generated based on the distance guidance identification information, and the distance information included in the predicted travel distance guidance information generated by the guidance information generation means by the guidance information generation means. Based on the specific information, distance guidance information is identified and extracted by referring to the fourth storage means, and the guidance information output means combines the link guidance information extracted by the guidance information extraction means and the distance guidance information. It is characterized by outputting.

  Further, the travel route prediction method of the present invention includes link information for specifying each link indicating a road that can be driven and its position information, and first node information for specifying a node indicating one end point of the road and its position information. Second node information for specifying a node indicating the other end point of the road and its position information, link attribute information such as road type, number of lanes, width, traffic regulation on the road, and various cautions according to the road Link guidance specifying information for specifying guidance is stored in association with each other, and connection link information for specifying each link connected to each node in association with each node information, and connection angle information indicating the connection state. The first storage means for storing the information, the link guidance specifying information, and various warning guidance according to the road by voice or image. And a second storage means for storing the information in association with each other, and the travel route prediction guidance device predicts the road on which the vehicle is supposed to travel and provides various attention guidance in the traveling direction. A travel route prediction / guidance method, wherein the travel route prediction / guidance device receives current position information in response to movement of the vehicle, and the travel route prediction / guidance device receives the first step in the first step. The first storage means is referred to based on the current position information, the link information of the road on which the vehicle is traveling is specified and set as the target link, and the link attribute information (hereinafter referred to as “target link attribute information”). )) And the travel route prediction / guidance apparatus, after the identification of the target link attribute information in the second step, The first storage means is referred to, and node information indicating a node connected to the traveling direction side end is specified based on the link information, and all link information associated with the node information is specified and traveled A third step of setting the link attribute information (hereinafter referred to as “travel candidate link attribute information”) and setting the candidate link, and the target link identified in the third step in the travel route prediction guidance device The attribute information is compared with all the travel candidate link attribute information specified by the travel candidate link information specifying means, and depending on the presence or absence of the travel candidate link attribute information having the same link attribute as the target link attribute information In the fourth step for determining the presence or absence of the first predicted travel route that is expected to travel, When it is determined in the fourth step that there is a first predicted travel route, the connection angle information is specified with reference to the first storage means based on the link information of the travel candidate link corresponding to the first predicted travel route. In the travel route prediction guidance device, a fifth step of determining the presence or absence of a second travel prediction route that determines that there is a high possibility of traveling according to whether the connection angle is within a predetermined angle range, When it is determined in the fifth step that there is a second predicted travel route, link guidance specific information is set by referring to the first storage means based on the link information of the travel candidate link corresponding to the second predicted travel route. In the sixth step of identifying the link guidance specifying information and generating the predicted travel route guidance information based on the link guidance specifying information, Based on the link guidance identification information included in the predicted travel route guidance information generated in 6 steps, the link guidance information is identified and extracted by referring to the second storage means, and extracted in the seventh step. The link information of the candidate travel links determined as the second predicted travel route that is determined to be highly likely to travel in the eighth step and the eighth step is output from the travel route prediction guide device. And a ninth step of further accepting as link information for identifying the inside road.

  Further, in the travel route prediction method of the present invention, the first storage means further stores guide point position information for specifying a guide point in association with the link guide specification information, and the travel route prediction guide device includes: Third storage means for storing distance information and distance guidance specifying information for specifying guidance according to the distance information in association with each other, and storing the distance guidance specifying information and distance guidance information in association with each other. And a fourth storage means, wherein in the travel route prediction guidance device, the first guidance means is referred to based on the link guidance identification information according to the particular identification of the link guidance identification information in the sixth step. The guide point position information is specified, and the vehicle and the guide point are determined from the guide point position information and the current position information of the vehicle received in the first step. In the travel route predicting and guiding apparatus, when the distance monitored in step α1 approaches a predetermined distance set in advance, the predetermined distance is referred to the third storage means. The distance guidance specifying information associated with the distance information indicating the distance guidance information is generated and the predicted travel distance guidance information is generated based on the distance guidance specifying information. Based on the distance guidance specifying information included in the predicted travel distance guidance information, the distance guidance information is identified and extracted with reference to the fourth storage means, the link guidance information extracted in the seventh step, and A step α4 that is combined with the distance guidance information extracted in the step α3 and that is output from the travel route prediction guidance device. And features.

  Further, the computer program of the present invention includes link information for specifying a link indicating a road that can be driven and its position information, first node information for specifying a node indicating one end point of the road, and its position information, Second node information for specifying a node indicating the other end point of the road and its position information, link attribute information such as road type, number of lanes, width, traffic restriction on the road, and various caution guidance according to the road The link guidance specifying information to be specified is stored in association with each other, and the link information specifying the link connected to each node in association with each node information, the connection angle information indicating the connection state, A first storage means for storing the information, the link guidance specific information, and various caution guidance according to the road by voice or image. And a second storage means for storing the link guidance information in association with each other, and a computer for executing various caution guidance in the traveling direction by predicting a road that the vehicle is supposed to travel from now on, Means for receiving current position information in accordance with the movement of the vehicle, referring to the first storage means based on the received current position information, identifying link information of a road on which the vehicle is running and setting it as a target link; At the same time, after specifying the link attribute information (hereinafter referred to as “target link attribute information”) and the target link attribute information, the first storage unit is continuously referred to and proceeding based on the link information. The node information indicating the node connected to the direction side end is specified, and all the link information associated with this node information is specified, and the driving A means for specifying each of the link attribute information (hereinafter referred to as “running candidate link attribute information”), the identified target link attribute information, and all the identified running candidate link attribute information; Means for determining the presence / absence of a first predicted travel route that will be traveled according to the presence / absence of the travel candidate link attribute information having the same link attribute as the target link attribute information, and the first travel prediction When it is determined that there is a route, the connection angle information is specified by referring to the first storage unit based on the link information of the travel candidate link corresponding to the first travel predicted route, and the connection angle is within a predetermined angle range. Means for determining the presence or absence of a second predicted travel route for determining that there is a high possibility of traveling according to whether there is a second predicted travel route When the link guidance specifying information is set with reference to the first storage means based on the link information of the travel candidate link corresponding to the second predicted travel route, the link guidance specifying information is specified. Means for generating predicted travel route guidance information based on the guide specifying information, and specifying link guide information with reference to the second storage means based on the link guide specifying information included in the generated predicted travel route guidance information; , Means for extracting, means for outputting the extracted link guidance information, and means for further accepting link information of the travel candidate links determined as the second travel predicted route as link information for identifying the road on which the vehicle is traveling It is characterized by that.

  In the computer program of the present invention, the first storage means further stores guide point position information for specifying a point for guidance in association with the link guide specifying information, and the travel route prediction guide device includes distance information. And a third storage means for storing the distance guidance specifying information for specifying the guidance according to the distance information in association with each other, and the fourth storage for storing the distance guidance specifying information and the distance guidance information in association with each other. Storage means, and according to the specific specification of the link guidance specifying information to the computer, the guide location position information is specified with reference to the first storage means based on the link guidance specifying information, Means for monitoring the distance between the vehicle and the guide point from the guide point position information and the received current position information of the vehicle, and the distance to be monitored is When approaching a predetermined distance, the distance information specifying information associated with the distance information indicating the predetermined distance is specified with reference to the third storage means, and the travel prediction is performed based on the distance information specifying information. Means for generating distance guidance information; means for identifying and extracting distance guidance information with reference to the fourth storage means based on the distance guidance specifying information included in the generated predicted travel distance guidance information; It is further characterized by functioning as a means for outputting a combination of link guidance information and distance guidance information.

When it is determined that there is a travel prediction route that is expected to travel based on the link attribute, the travel route prediction device of the present invention further includes a target link indicating a road on which the vehicle is traveling and a travel candidate indicating the travel prediction route. There is provided means for identifying link connection angle information and determining that there is a high possibility of traveling according to whether the connection angle is within a predetermined angle range. Therefore, even if the link attributes are the same, if this connection angle is not within the predetermined angle range, it is not determined that there is a high possibility that the vehicle will travel in the future, while the link attributes are the same and this connection angle. Can be determined to be highly likely to travel from now on. And the link guidance specific information set to this travel candidate link is specified, link guidance information is extracted based on this link guidance specific information, and is output.
Therefore, when the route search process is not performed, it is possible to predict a road that the vehicle is supposed to travel from and perform various caution guidance at the guidance point in the traveling direction.

Hereinafter, an example of a travel route prediction / guidance apparatus, a travel route prediction / guidance method, and a computer program for travel route prediction / guidance according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
A travel route prediction guidance device (hereinafter referred to as “this device”) 10 according to the present invention predicts a road that a vehicle is supposed to travel from when the route search process is not being performed, and provides various caution guidance in the traveling direction. It is a device to perform. Here, the various caution guidance refers to information for alerting the user when there is a railroad crossing, a school road, a sharp curve, a tunnel, or the like ahead of a running road.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a travel route prediction guidance system (hereinafter referred to as “the present system”) using the apparatus 10.
As shown in FIG. 1, the present system can be configured by the present apparatus 10, the own vehicle position positioning apparatus 20, the output apparatus 30, and the like.

The own vehicle position measuring device 20 is a device that measures the current position of the vehicle, receives a GPS signal transmitted from a GPS satellite, measures a position based on the GPS signal, It consists of a speed sensor that measures the amount of movement (distance), a gyro sensor that measures the traveling (movement) direction, and the like.
A GPS sensor is a so-called GPS receiver, receives a GPS signal radiated from a GPS satellite, measures a distance (pseudo distance) between the GPS satellite and the GPS receiver itself, and receives a plurality of satellites. Are simultaneously received to calculate the current position (GPS positioning solution) of the GPS receiver itself.
In addition, the vehicle positioning device 20 is mounted on a vehicle, and performs processing such as decoding of the received GPS signal in addition to a GPS receiver (antenna) that receives the GPS signal, and signal processing that is output to the device 10 A part.

  The output device 30 is a device that outputs guidance information transmitted from the device 10, and is, for example, a speaker that is a sound emitting device 31 that emits voice guidance information, or an image display device 32 that displays image guidance information. A display (or monitor).

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a route guidance information output device 1 realized by using this system.
The route guidance information output device 1 includes a road map information storage unit. This road map information is stored in advance in the storage unit of the present apparatus 10, and may be stored in an auxiliary storage device as a removable medium called a so-called SD memory card, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, or the like. it can. Further, it may be downloaded via a communication network such as the Internet.

  In the sound emitting device 31, the sound guidance information is emitted from the speaker, so that the caution information regarding the road predicted by the hearing that the vehicle will travel from now on can be recognized. The sound emitting device 31 may be provided exclusively for the device 10, or the route guidance information output device 1 or an existing device provided in the vehicle, for example, a sound emitting unit such as a car audio device is used. Things can be used.

  Further, the image display device 32 displays road map information and current position information of the vehicle on a display (or monitor) and also displays image guidance information together on the display, so that the vehicle will run visually. Notification is made so that the caution information regarding the road predicted to be recognized can be recognized. The image display device 32 may also be provided exclusively for the device 10 or may be provided in the route guidance information output device 1 and use a display unit.

Next, the configuration of the apparatus 10 will be described.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the apparatus 10.
As shown in FIG. 3, the device 10 includes a road information storage unit (first storage unit) F1, a link guidance information storage unit (second storage unit) F2, a host vehicle position information reception unit 11, and a target link. An information identification unit 12, a travel candidate link information identification unit 13, a link attribute determination unit 14, a connection angle determination unit 15, a guidance information generation unit 16, a guidance information extraction unit 17, a guidance information output unit 18, And at least a control unit C. Note that reference symbol B in the figure is a bus for transmitting control signals, data, and the like in the apparatus 10.

The apparatus 10 may be an information processing apparatus, and is realized by, for example, a mobile personal computer, a PND (Portable Navigation Device), a dedicated device, or the like. Although not shown, the apparatus 10 includes a CPU (central processing unit), a program storage unit, input devices such as key buttons, an auxiliary storage device, an OS (operating system), and the like.
The CPU is means for controlling and controlling each component of the apparatus 10 and executing program processing according to the computer program stored in the program storage unit. The program storage unit is constituted by a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), or the like, and is a means for storing various computer programs used by the apparatus 10.

  The road information storage unit F1 includes link information for specifying each link indicating a road that can be traveled and its position information, first node information for specifying a node indicating one end point of this road, its position information, and this road. 2nd node information specifying the node indicating the other end point of the vehicle and its position information, link attribute information such as road type, number of lanes, width, traffic restrictions on this road, and various caution guidance according to this road The link guidance specifying information is stored in association with each other, and each of the link information specifying the link connected to each node in association with each node information, and the connection angle information indicating the connection state, respectively. It is a means to memorize. Here, the link guidance specifying information is so-called offset information that specifies the storage location of the link guidance information.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the road information storage unit F1.
For example, in the road information management file shown in FIG. 4, a link ID and its position information as link information, a node ID as first node information, a node ID as second node information, a road type and lane as link attribute information This indicates that the file is configured by associating the number, width, traffic regulation, and the like with the link guidance specific information. In the road information management file shown in FIG. 4, the node ID, the position information of this node, the number of connection links to this node, the link ID as these connection link information, and the connection indicating the connection state between the link and the connection link It shows that a file is formed by associating angle information with each other.

  Therefore, if the link information for identifying the road on which the vehicle is traveling is known from the road information management file, the link attribute can be understood. Also, if this link information is known, node information that identifies a node indicating one end point of the road on which the vehicle is traveling is known, and all connections indicating roads connected to the traveling road are identified from this node information. You can see the link and its link attributes. Furthermore, connection angle information between a connection link determined to be a travel candidate link that is expected to travel from this link attribute and a link on which the host vehicle is traveling is known. And the setting of link guidance specific information will be understood from the connection link determined that there is a high possibility of traveling from the connection angle information.

  The road information is stored in advance in the storage unit of the apparatus 10, and can be stored in an auxiliary storage device as a removable medium called a so-called SD memory card, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, or the like. . Further, it may be downloaded via a communication network such as the Internet.

  The link guidance information storage unit F2 is a means for storing link guidance specifying information and link guidance information for performing various types of caution guidance according to roads by voice or image in association with each other. That is, the link guidance information refers to audio guidance information that is notified so that the attention information can be recognized by hearing, and image guidance information that is notified so that the attention information can be recognized visually.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the link guidance information storage unit F2.
For example, the link guide information management file shown in FIG. 5 indicates that the link guide specifying information and the link guide information are associated with each other to form a file.
Therefore, if the link guidance specific information is known from the link guidance information management file, the link guidance information can be understood.

The own vehicle position information receiving unit 11 performs a process of receiving the current position information of the vehicle. Here, the current position is constituted by latitude and longitude, for example. This current position information is transmitted from the own vehicle position measurement device 20.
The own vehicle position information receiving unit 11 transmits the received current position information of the vehicle to the target link information specifying unit 12.

The target link information specifying unit 12 refers to the road information storage unit F1 based on the current position information received by the own vehicle position information receiving unit 11, specifies the link information of the road on which the vehicle is traveling, and sets it as the target link. At the same time, processing for specifying the link attribute information (hereinafter referred to as “target link attribute information”) is performed.
The target link information specifying unit 12 transmits the specified target link attribute information to the travel candidate link information specifying unit 13 and the link attribute determining unit 14.

  Further, the target link information specifying unit 12 uses the link information of the travel candidate link determined to be the second predicted travel route to be determined by the connection angle determination unit 15 as having a high possibility of traveling in the future. It has a function to further accept as specified link information.

After the target link attribute information is specified by the target link attribute information specifying unit 12, the travel candidate link information specifying unit 13 continues to refer to the road information storage unit F1 and is connected to the traveling direction side end based on the link information. The node information indicating the node is specified, all link information associated with the node information is specified and set as the travel candidate link, and the link attribute information (hereinafter referred to as “travel candidate link attribute information”). ) Is specified.
The travel candidate link information specifying unit 13 transmits the specified travel candidate link attribute information to the link attribute determining unit 14.

The link attribute determination unit 14 compares the target link attribute information specified by the target link attribute information specifying unit 12 with all the travel candidate link attribute information specified by the travel candidate link information specifying unit 13, respectively. A process of determining the presence or absence of the first predicted travel route that is expected to travel is performed according to the presence or absence of the travel candidate link attribute information having the same link attribute as the information.
The link attribute determination unit 14 transmits the link information of the travel candidate link determined to be the first travel predicted route to the connection angle determination unit 15.

When the link attribute determination unit 14 determines that there is the first predicted travel route, the connection angle determination unit 15 refers to the road information storage unit F1 based on the link information of the travel candidate link corresponding to the first predicted travel route. The connection angle information is specified, and processing for determining the presence / absence of a second travel predicted route that determines that there is a high possibility of traveling according to whether the connection angle is within a predetermined angle range is performed.
The connection angle determination unit 15 transmits the link information of the travel candidate links determined as the second predicted travel route to the guidance information generation unit 16. Further, the connection angle determination unit 15 transmits link information of the travel candidate link to the target link information specifying unit 12.

When the connection angle determination unit 15 determines that the second travel predicted route is present, the guidance information generation unit 16 refers to the road information storage unit F1 based on the link information of the travel candidate link corresponding to the second travel predicted route. When the link guidance specifying information is set, the link guidance specifying information is specified, and a process of generating predicted travel route guidance information is performed based on the link guidance specifying information.
The guidance information generation unit 16 transmits the generated travel predicted route guidance information to the guidance information extraction unit 17.

The guidance information extraction unit 17 identifies and extracts link guidance information with reference to the link guidance information storage unit F2 based on link guidance identification information included in the predicted travel route guidance information generated by the guidance information generation unit 16. I do.
The guidance information extraction unit 17 transmits the extracted link guidance information to the guidance information output unit 18.

The guide information output unit 18 performs a process of outputting the link guide information extracted by the guide information extraction unit.
This link guidance information is transmitted from the device 10 to the output device 30.

  The control unit C includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like, and controls and controls each component of the apparatus 10 and executes its processing.

<First Embodiment>
Next, an example of the operation of the route guidance information output device including the operation of the device 10 that implements the travel route prediction guidance method described above will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of a travel route prediction guidance process in the present system.

Here, the connection angle between each link and adjacent links can be shown, for example, in FIG. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a process for predicting a travel route in the travel route prediction guidance apparatus according to the present invention.
In FIG. 9, a road (link) whose one end point (node) is the node N1 and whose other end point (node) is the node N2 is indicated by a link L1, and this node N2 is one end point, A road having the node N3 as a node N3 is indicated by a link L2, and a road having the node N3 as one end point and the other end point as a node N4 is indicated by a link L3. Here, it is assumed that the links L1 to L3 have the same link attributes.

  In FIG. 9, the connection angle between the link L1 and the link L2 is indicated by α1, and the connection angle between the link L2 and the link L3 is indicated by α2. Here, it is assumed that the connection angles α1 and α2 are within a predetermined angle range. In addition, the code | symbol M shown in the figure is a mark which shows the own vehicle position, and the code | symbol R shows a crossing as a guidance point which performs attention guidance.

In such a situation, when the own vehicle travels on the link L1, the own vehicle position information receiving unit 11 acquires own vehicle position information, which is current position information of the vehicle, from the own vehicle position measuring device 20 (S10).
Next, the target link information specifying unit 12 refers to the road information storage unit F1 based on the own vehicle position information acquired by the own vehicle position information receiving unit 11, specifies the link information of the road on which the vehicle is traveling, and the target link. (S20). That is, the link L1 is set as the target link.
Subsequently, the target link information specifying unit 12 specifies target link attribute information that is attribute information of the target link (S30). That is, the attribute information of the link L1 is specified.

  In addition, after the candidate link information specifying unit 13 specifies the target link attribute information in the target link attribute information specifying unit 12, the travel candidate link information specifying unit 13 continuously refers to the road information storage unit F <b> 1 and based on this link information, Node information indicating the connected node is specified (S40). That is, the node N2 is specified.

  Note that the travel candidate link information specifying unit 13 further specifies node information indicating the next node when the length of the link set as the target link in the target link information specifying unit 12 is not longer than a predetermined length. That is, since the link length varies, appropriate attention guidance cannot be performed when the link length is too short. For this reason, the node information is specified so that the link length can be secured to a predetermined length or more.

Subsequently, the travel candidate link information specifying unit 13 specifies all link information associated with the node information and sets the link information as travel candidate links (S50). That is, the link L2 connected to the node N2 is specified, and this link L2 is set as a travel candidate link.
Further, the travel candidate link information specifying unit 13 specifies travel candidate link attribute information that is the link attribute of the set travel candidate link (S60). That is, the attribute information of the link L2 is specified.

  In addition, the link attribute determination unit 14 compares the target link attribute information specified by the target link attribute information specifying unit 12 and all the travel candidate link attribute information specified by the travel candidate link information specifying unit 13, respectively. The presence / absence of the first predicted travel route that is expected to travel is determined according to the presence / absence of the travel candidate link attribute information having the same link attribute as the link attribute information (S70). That is, the attribute information of the link L1 and the attribute information of the link L2 are compared to determine whether or not the attribute information is the same. If the attribute information is the same, the first predicted travel route that is expected to travel from now on is determined. Suppose that there is.

  As a result, when the link attribute determination unit 14 determines that the attribute information of the link L1 and the attribute information of the link L2 are the same and there is a first predicted travel route (Y), the connection angle determination unit 15 continues. The connection angle information is identified by referring to the road information storage unit F1 based on the link information of the travel candidate link corresponding to the first travel predicted route, and it is determined whether or not the connection angle is within a predetermined angle range. (S80). That is, when it is determined that the attribute information of the link L1 and the attribute information of the link L2 are the same, the link L2 is set as the first travel predicted route, and the connection angle between the link L1 and the link L2 is continuously within a predetermined angle range. It is determined whether or not.

  On the other hand, when the link attribute determination unit 14 determines that the attribute information of the link L1 and the attribute information of the link L2 are not the same (N), the series of operations in the apparatus 10 is finished as it is.

Further, when the connection angle determination unit 15 determines that the connection angle between the link L1 and the link L2 is within a predetermined angle range (Y), the connection angle determination unit 15 continues to travel on this travel candidate link. The second driving predicted route with high possibility is determined (S90). That is, the link L2 is assumed to be a road that will be traveled from now on.
On the other hand, when the connection angle determination unit 15 determines that the connection angle between the link L1 and the link L2 is not within the predetermined angle range (N), the series of operations in the apparatus 10 is finished as it is.

  Next, when the connection information determination unit 15 determines that the second travel predicted route is present (Y), the guidance information generation unit 16 stores road information based on the link information of the travel candidate links corresponding to the second travel predicted route. It is determined with reference to part F1 whether there is a setting of link guidance specific information (S100). That is, it is confirmed whether the link guidance specific information is set for the link L2. In FIG. 9, since the link L2 intersects with the crossing R which is a guide point for performing the caution guidance, it is determined here that the link guidance specific information is set.

Subsequently, the guide information generating unit 16 specifies the link guide specifying information when the link guide specifying information is set (S110). That is, the link guidance specifying information for performing the guidance for the presence of the crossing is specified.
On the other hand, when the guidance information generation unit 16 determines that the connection angle determination unit 15 does not have the second predicted travel route (N), the series of operations in the device 10 ends.
Furthermore, the guidance information generation part 16 produces | generates driving | running | working prediction route guidance information based on the specified link guidance specific information (S120).

Further, the guide information extracting unit 17 specifies and extracts the link guide information with reference to the link guide information storage unit F2 based on the link guide specifying information included in the predicted travel route guide information generated by the guide information generating unit 16. (S130).
Then, the guide information output unit 18 outputs the link guide information extracted by the guide information extraction unit 17 to the output device 30 (31, 32) (S140). That is, link guidance information for providing guidance for the presence of the crossing R in the link L2 is output to prompt attention. At this time, as the link guidance information, as shown in FIG. 9, a voice guidance such as “This is a crossing ahead” is output from the sound emitting device 31 or a graphic such as a sign indicating that there is a crossing is displayed on the image display device. Or output at 32.

  Thereafter, the target link information specifying unit 12 uses the connection angle determining unit 15 to determine the link information of the travel candidate link determined as the second predicted travel route that is highly likely to travel from now on, and the link that identifies the currently traveling road. Repeatedly accepting as information (S150). That is, the link information of the link L2 is set as the target link, and the above processing is repeated sequentially.

  Therefore, by determining whether the attribute information of the link L2 and the link L3 is the same, and determining whether the connection angle α2 of the link L2 and the link L3 is within a predetermined range, the link L3 is assumed to travel from now on. It is determined whether or not the road can be predicted.

As described above, in this embodiment, when the road attributes such as the road type, the number of lanes, the width, and the traffic regulation are the same, they can be viewed as one lump, and the road linearity (link connection angle) ) To predict the road that is expected to run in the future.
This realizes a new service that predicts the road that will be run from now on, even if the guidance route has not been drawn by route search processing in advance, and provides various attention guidance at the guidance point in the direction of travel, such as crossing guidance can do.
Therefore, in route guidance, it is possible to reduce the burden in the process of estimating a road that is expected to run from now on, and to present a comfortable operating environment to the user.

<Second Embodiment>
Moreover, in this invention, guidance information can also be output according to the distance to a guidance point. That is, it differs from the first embodiment described above in that it includes means for outputting guidance information according to the distance.
In other embodiments described below, the description will focus on parts that are different from the first embodiment described above. Therefore, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted. Unless otherwise specified, the same components are assumed to be the same.

In the present embodiment, the device 10 further includes a distance guidance specific information storage unit (third storage unit) TB1, a distance guidance information storage unit (fourth storage unit) F3, and a guidance point distance monitoring unit 19. Prepare.
In this device 10, road information storage part F1 further memorizes guidance point position information which specifies a place to perform guidance in association with link guidance specific information.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the road information storage unit F1.
For example, the road information management file shown in FIG. 4 indicates that the link guidance specifying information and the guidance point position information are associated with each other to form a file.
Therefore, if the link guidance specifying information is known from this road information management file, the guidance point position information can be known, and if the own vehicle position information is known, the distance from the own vehicle to the guidance point can be known.

The distance guidance specifying information storage unit TB1 is means for storing distance information and distance guidance specifying information for specifying guidance according to the distance information in association with each other.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the distance guidance specific information storage unit TB1.
For example, the distance guidance specific information correspondence table shown in FIG. 8 indicates that the distance guidance specific information can be identified using the distance information as an index. The distance guidance specifying information is so-called offset information that specifies the storage location of the distance guidance information.
Therefore, the guidance specifying information can be understood from the preset distance information by the distance guidance specifying information correspondence table.

The distance guidance information storage unit F3 is means for storing the distance guidance specifying information and the distance guidance information in association with each other.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the distance guidance information storage unit F3.
For example, the distance guidance information management file shown in FIG. 7 indicates that the distance guidance specifying information and the distance guidance information are associated with each other to form a file.
Therefore, if the distance guidance specifying information is known from the distance guidance information management file, the distance guidance information can be understood.

  The guide point distance monitoring unit 19 specifies the guide point position information by referring to the road information storage unit based on the link guide specifying information according to the specific specification of the link guide specifying information in the guide information generating unit 16. The distance between the vehicle and the guide point is monitored from the guide point position information and the current position information of the vehicle received by the host vehicle position information receiving unit 11.

Further, in the present embodiment, when the distance monitored by the guidance point distance monitoring unit 19 approaches the predetermined distance set in advance, the guidance information generating unit 16 refers to the distance guidance specifying information storage unit TB1 and performs predetermined processing. It has a function of specifying distance guidance specifying information associated with distance information indicating a distance and generating predicted travel distance guidance information based on the distance guidance specifying information.
The guidance information generation unit 16 transmits the generated predicted travel distance guidance information to the guidance information extraction unit 17.

The guidance information extraction unit 17 has a function of identifying and extracting the distance guidance information with reference to the distance guidance information storage unit F3 based on the distance guidance identification information included in the predicted travel distance guidance information generated by the guidance information generation unit 16. Is provided.
The guidance information extraction unit 17 transmits the extracted distance guidance information to the guidance information output unit 18.

The guide information output unit 18 has a function of outputting the link guide information extracted by the guide information extraction unit 17 and the distance guide information in combination.
The link guidance information and the distance guidance information are transmitted from the device 10 to the output device 30.

  Hereinafter, an example of another operation of the travel route prediction guidance process in the device 10 that implements the travel route prediction guidance method executed by the device 10 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating another example of the travel route prediction guidance process in the apparatus 10.

Here, the connection angle between each link and adjacent links can be shown, for example, in FIG. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing another example of a process for predicting a travel route in the travel route prediction guidance apparatus according to the present invention.
In FIG. 11, a road (link) whose one end point (node) is the node N1 and whose other end point (node) is the node N2 is indicated by a link L1, and this node N2 is one end point, A road having the node N3 as a node N3 is indicated by a link L2, and a road having the node N3 as one end point and the other end point as a node N4 is indicated by a link L3. Here, it is assumed that the links L1 to L3 have the same link attributes.

  In FIG. 11, the connection angle between the link L1 and the link L2 is indicated by α1, and the connection angle between the link L2 and the link L3 is indicated by α2. Here, it is assumed that the connection angles α1 and α2 are within a predetermined angle range. In addition, the code | symbol M shown in the figure is a mark which shows the own vehicle position, and the code | symbol R shows a crossing as a guidance point which performs attention guidance. The distance between the vehicle position M and the crossing R is D, which is a predetermined distance set in advance.

  In such a situation, when the own vehicle travels on the link L1, the own vehicle position information receiving unit 11 acquires the own vehicle position information that is the current position information of the vehicle, and the target link information specifying unit 12 is traveling. The link information of the road is specified and set as the target link, and the attribute information is specified. Further, the travel candidate link information identification unit 13 identifies node information indicating a node connected to the traveling direction side end, identifies all link information associated with this node information, and sets it as a travel candidate link The attribute information is specified. Further, the link attribute determination unit 14 predicts a road that will be traveled by determining whether or not there is a travel candidate link having the same link attribute as the target link, and the connection angle determination unit 15 is traveling. It is predicted that the road is more likely to travel from the connection angle between the link information indicating the road and the travel candidate link indicating the road that is supposed to travel. The process up to the process of specifying link guidance specifying information in the travel candidate link predicted to be a road with a high possibility of traveling (S110) is the same as in the case of the first embodiment described above.

Next, the guidance point distance monitoring unit 19 refers to the road information storage unit F1 based on the link guidance specifying information according to the specific specification of the link guidance specifying information in the guidance information generating unit 16, and obtains the guidance point position information. Specify (S111).
Subsequently, the guide point distance monitoring unit 19 monitors the distance between the vehicle and the guide point from the current position information of the vehicle received by the host vehicle position information receiving unit 11 and the specified guide point position information (S112). That is, the distance from the vehicle position M to the railroad crossing R that is a guide point is calculated.

Further, the guidance information generation unit 16 acquires distance information that informs that the distance from the vehicle to the guidance point has approached a predetermined distance set in advance from the guidance point distance monitoring unit 19. That is, distance information is acquired to notify that the distance between the vehicle position M and the crossing R has approached a predetermined distance D set in advance (S113).
Next, when the distance monitored by the guidance point distance monitoring unit 19 approaches a predetermined distance set in advance, the guidance information generating unit 16 refers to the distance guidance specifying information storage unit TB1 to obtain distance information indicating the predetermined distance. The associated distance guidance specifying information is specified (S114).
Subsequently, the guidance information generating unit 16 generates travel prediction route guidance information based on the specified link guidance specifying information (S120).
Furthermore, the guidance information generation part 16 produces | generates driving | running | working estimated distance guidance information based on this distance guidance specific information (S121).

The guidance information extraction unit 17 identifies and extracts link guidance information with reference to the link guidance information storage unit F2 based on the link guidance identification information included in the predicted travel route guidance information generated by the guidance information generation unit 16. (S130).
Further, the guidance information extraction unit 17 identifies and extracts the distance guidance information with reference to the distance guidance information storage unit F3 based on the distance guidance identification information included in the predicted travel distance guidance information generated by the guidance information generation unit 16. (S131).

Then, the guidance information output unit 18 combines the link guidance information extracted by the guidance information extraction unit 17 and the release guidance information and outputs the combined information to the output device 30 (31, 32) (S140). That is, the link guidance information for performing the guidance for the presence of the crossing R in the link L2 is output, and further, the separation guidance information for performing the guidance for the ◯ m until the crossing R is output to prompt attention. At this time, as the link guidance information, as shown in FIG. 11, a voice guidance such as “Xm ahead, crossing” is output from the sound emitting device 31 or a figure such as a sign indicating that there is a crossing. Or output by the image display device 32.
The subsequent processing is the same as in the case of the first embodiment described above.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, caution guidance including separation guidance information corresponding to the distance to the guidance point can be output together with the link guidance information, and guidance that is easier to understand can be performed.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is industrially useful in an industry that handles devices that provide vehicle route guidance, and is also useful in the electrical appliance market such as a car navigation device that can display an electronic map.

It is the schematic which shows an example of the driving route prediction guidance system using the driving route prediction guide apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is the schematic which shows the route guidance information output apparatus implement | achieved by using the traveling route prediction guidance system using the traveling route prediction guidance apparatus route guidance apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a block block diagram which shows an example of embodiment of the driving route prediction guidance apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is an example which shows the structure of the road information management file memorize | stored in the memory | storage part with which the driving route prediction guide apparatus which concerns on this invention is provided. It is an example which shows the structure of the link guidance information management file memorize | stored in the memory | storage part with which the driving route prediction guidance apparatus which concerns on this invention is provided. It is an example which shows the structure of the distance guidance specific information corresponding | compatible table with which the driving route prediction guidance apparatus which concerns on this invention is provided. It is an example which shows the structure of the distance guidance information management file memorize | stored in the memory | storage part with which the driving route prediction guidance apparatus which concerns on this invention is provided. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the driving route prediction guidance process in the driving route prediction guide apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the output of the guidance information in the driving route prediction guidance apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows another example of the travel route prediction guidance process in the travel route prediction guidance apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows another example of the output of the guidance information in the driving route prediction guidance apparatus which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  C control unit, F1 road information storage unit (first storage unit), F2 link guidance information storage unit (second storage unit), F3 distance guidance information storage unit (fourth storage unit), TB1 distance guidance specific information storage unit ( (Third storage means), 10 travel route prediction guidance device, 11 own vehicle position information reception unit, 12 target link information identification unit, 13 travel candidate link information identification unit, 14 link attribute determination unit, 15 connection angle determination unit, 16 guidance Information generating unit, 17 guide information extracting unit, 18 guide information output unit, 19 guide point distance monitoring unit, 20 own vehicle position positioning device, 30 output device, 31 voice sound emitting device, 32 image display device.

Claims (6)

A travel route prediction guidance device that predicts a road that a vehicle is supposed to travel from and performs various caution guidance in the traveling direction,
Link information for identifying a link indicating a road that can be traveled and its position information, first node information for identifying a node indicating one end point of the road and its position information, and a node indicating the other end point of the road Second node information for specifying the position and position information thereof, link attribute information such as road type, number of lanes, width, traffic restriction on the road, and link guidance specifying information for specifying various attention guides according to the road, First storage means for storing, in association with each other, connection link information for identifying each link connected to the node, and connection angle information indicating the connection state, in association with each node information ,
A second storage means for storing the link guidance specific information and link guidance information for performing various types of caution guidance according to the road by voice or image in association with each other;
Own vehicle position information receiving means for receiving current position information according to the movement of the vehicle;
Based on the current position information received by the own vehicle position information receiving means, the first storage means is referred to, and link information of a road on which the vehicle is traveling is specified and set as a target link, and link attribute information thereof (Hereinafter referred to as “target link attribute information”) target link information specifying means,
After the target link attribute information is specified by the target link attribute information specifying unit, the first storage unit is continuously referred to, and node information indicating a node connected to the traveling direction side end is specified based on the link information. At the same time, all link information associated with the node information is specified and set as a travel candidate link, and the link attribute information (hereinafter referred to as “travel candidate link attribute information”) is specified. Information identification means;
The target link attribute information specified by the target link attribute information specifying unit and all the travel candidate link attribute information specified by the travel candidate link information specifying unit are respectively compared, and the same link attribute as the target link attribute information Link attribute determination means for determining the presence or absence of a first predicted travel route that is supposed to travel in the future depending on the presence or absence of the travel candidate link attribute information having
When the link attribute determination unit determines that there is a first predicted travel route, the connection angle information is specified by referring to the first storage unit based on the link information of the travel candidate link corresponding to the first predicted travel route. A connection angle determination means for determining whether or not there is a second predicted travel route that determines that there is a high possibility of traveling according to whether the connection angle is within a predetermined angle range;
When it is determined by the connection angle determination means that there is a second predicted travel route, setting of link guidance specific information is made by referring to the first storage means based on the link information of the travel candidate link corresponding to the second predicted travel route. Guidance information generating means for specifying the link guidance specifying information when there is, and generating travel prediction route guidance information based on the link guidance specifying information;
Guidance information extraction means for identifying and extracting link guidance information with reference to the second storage means based on the link guidance identification information included in the predicted travel route guidance information generated by the guidance information generation means;
Guidance information output means for outputting the link guidance information extracted by the guidance information extraction means;
With
The target link information specifying means further uses the link information of the travel candidate links determined as the second travel predicted route to be determined by the connection angle determining means to be highly likely to travel as link information for identifying the road being traveled. Accept,
A travel route prediction guidance apparatus characterized by the above. The first storage means further stores guide point position information for specifying a point for guidance in association with the link guide specifying information,
Third storage means for storing distance information and distance guidance specifying information for specifying guidance according to the distance information in association with each other;
Fourth storage means for storing the distance guidance specifying information and the distance guidance information in association with each other;
According to the specific specification of the link guide specifying information in the guide information generating means, the guide point position information is specified by referring to the first storage means based on the link guide specifying information, and the guide point position information and A guide point distance monitoring unit that monitors a distance between the vehicle and the guide point from the current position information of the vehicle received by the vehicle position information receiving unit;
Further comprising
The guidance information generating means is associated with distance information indicating the predetermined distance with reference to the third storage means when the distance monitored by the guidance point distance monitoring means approaches a predetermined distance set in advance. Specific distance guidance identification information is generated, and travel prediction distance guidance information is generated based on the distance guidance identification information.
The guidance information extracting means identifies and extracts the distance guidance information with reference to the fourth storage means based on the distance guidance identification information included in the predicted travel distance guidance information generated by the guidance information generation means,
The guidance information output means outputs a combination of the link guidance information extracted by the guidance information extraction means and the distance guidance information.
The travel route predicting and guiding device according to claim 1. Link information for identifying a link indicating a road that can be traveled and its position information, first node information for identifying a node indicating one end point of the road and its position information, and a node indicating the other end point of the road Second node information for specifying the position and position information thereof, link attribute information such as road type, number of lanes, width, traffic restriction on the road, and link guidance specifying information for specifying various attention guides according to the road, First storage means for storing, in association with each other, connection link information for identifying each link connected to the node, and connection angle information indicating the connection state, in association with each node information The link guidance specific information and the link guidance information for performing various types of caution guidance according to the road by voice or image are associated with each other. Comprising a second storage means for 憶, the, by the travel route prediction guidance device, a travel route prediction guidance methods to perform various note guide in the prediction to the traveling direction of the road appear to vehicle travels from now,
In the travel route prediction guidance device, a first step of receiving current position information according to the movement of the vehicle;
In the travel route prediction guide device, the first storage means is referred to based on the current position information received in the first step, and link information of a road on which the vehicle is traveling is specified and set as a target link. A second step of identifying the link attribute information (hereinafter referred to as “target link attribute information”);
In the travel route prediction and guidance device, after the target link attribute information is specified in the second step, the first storage means is continuously referred to, and the nodes connected to the traveling direction side end portions are indicated based on the link information. The node information is specified, all link information associated with the node information is specified and set as a travel candidate link, and the link attribute information (hereinafter referred to as “running candidate link attribute information”) is set. A third step to identify;
In the travel route prediction guidance device, the target link attribute information specified in the third step is compared with all the travel candidate link attribute information specified by the travel candidate link information specifying means, respectively, and the target link attribute information A fourth step of determining the presence or absence of a first predicted travel route that is expected to travel in the future depending on the presence or absence of the travel candidate link attribute information having the same link attribute;
In the travel route prediction guidance device, when it is determined in the fourth step that there is a first travel prediction route, the first storage means is referred to based on link information of a travel candidate link corresponding to the first travel prediction route. Identifying the connection angle information, and determining whether or not there is a second predicted travel route that determines that there is a high possibility of traveling according to whether the connection angle is within a predetermined angle range;
In the travel route prediction guidance device, when it is determined in the fifth step that there is a second travel prediction route, the first storage means is referred to based on link information of a travel candidate link corresponding to the second travel prediction route. A sixth step of specifying the link guidance specifying information when the link guidance specifying information is set, and generating the predicted travel route guidance information based on the link guidance specifying information;
In the travel route prediction guidance device, the link guidance information is identified and extracted by referring to the second storage means based on the link guidance identification information included in the travel prediction route guidance information generated in the sixth step. 7 steps,
An eighth step of outputting the link guidance information extracted in the seventh step from the travel route prediction guidance device;
Including a ninth step of further accepting link information of the candidate travel link determined as the second predicted travel route that is determined to be highly likely to travel in the fifth step as link information for identifying the road that is traveling. A driving route predicting and guiding method as a feature. In the travel route prediction guidance device, the first storage means further stores guidance point position information for specifying a point for guidance in association with the link guidance specifying information, and stores distance information and guidance according to the distance information. A third storage means for storing the distance guidance specifying information for specifying the distance guidance; and a fourth storage means for storing the distance guidance specifying information and the distance guidance information in association with each other;
In the travel route prediction and guidance device, according to the specific specification of the link guidance specifying information in the sixth step, the guide point position information is specified by referring to the first storage means based on the link guide specifying information. The step α1 for monitoring the distance between the vehicle and the guide point from the guide point position information and the current position information of the vehicle received in the first step;
In the travel route prediction guidance device, when the distance monitored in step α1 approaches a predetermined distance set in advance, a distance associated with distance information indicating the predetermined distance with reference to the third storage unit Step α2 for identifying guidance specific information and generating predicted travel distance guidance information based on the distance guidance specific information;
Step α3 of identifying and extracting distance guidance information with reference to the fourth storage means based on the distance guidance identification information included in the predicted travel distance guidance information generated at step α2 in the travel route prediction guidance device. When,
A step α4 of combining the link guidance information extracted in the seventh step and the distance guidance information extracted in the step α3 and outputting the combined information from the travel route prediction guidance device;
The travel route prediction guidance method according to claim 3, further comprising: Link information for identifying a link indicating a road that can be traveled and its position information, first node information for identifying a node indicating one end point of the road and its position information, and a node indicating the other end point of the road Second node information for specifying the position and position information thereof, link attribute information such as road type, number of lanes, width, traffic restriction on the road, and link guidance specifying information for specifying various attention guides according to the road, First storage means for storing, in association with each other, connection link information for identifying each link connected to the node, and connection angle information indicating the connection state, in association with each node information The link guidance specific information and the link guidance information for performing various types of caution guidance according to the road by voice or image are associated with each other. A second storage means for 憶 comprises, a computer for the vehicle to perform to perform various note guide in the prediction to the traveling direction of the road appear to travel from now,
Means for receiving current position information in accordance with movement of the vehicle;
Based on the received current position information, the first storage means is referred to, and the link information of the road on which the vehicle is traveling is specified and set as the target link, and the link attribute information (hereinafter referred to as “target link attribute information”). ")."
After the target link attribute information is specified, the first storage means is continuously referred to, node information indicating a node connected to the traveling direction side end is specified based on the link information, and the node information is associated with the node information. Identifying all the link information that is set and setting it as a travel candidate link, and specifying each of the link attribute information (hereinafter referred to as “travel candidate link attribute information”),
The identified target link attribute information is compared with all the identified travel candidate link attribute information, and depending on the presence or absence of the travel candidate link attribute information having the same link attribute as the target link attribute information. Means for determining the presence or absence of a first travel prediction route that is supposed to travel;
When it is determined that there is the first predicted travel route, the connection angle information is specified by referring to the first storage unit based on the link information of the travel candidate link corresponding to the first predicted travel route. Means for determining the presence or absence of a second predicted travel route for determining that there is a high possibility of traveling according to whether the vehicle is within a predetermined angle range;
When it is determined that there is the second predicted travel route, when the link guidance specific information is set with reference to the first storage means based on the link information of the candidate travel link corresponding to the second predicted travel route, Means for identifying link guidance identification information and generating travel prediction route guidance information based on the link guidance identification information;
Means for identifying and extracting link guidance information with reference to the second storage means based on the link guidance identification information included in the generated predicted travel route guidance information;
Means for outputting the extracted link guidance information;
Means for further accepting link information of the travel candidate link determined as the second travel predicted route as link information for identifying the road being traveled;
A computer program that functions as a computer program. In the travel route prediction guidance device, the first storage means further stores guidance point position information for specifying a point for guidance in association with the link guidance specifying information, and stores distance information and guidance according to the distance information. A third storage means for storing the distance guidance specifying information for specifying the distance guidance; and a fourth storage means for storing the distance guidance specifying information and the distance guidance information in association with each other;
In the computer,
According to the specific specification of the link guidance specifying information, the guide point position information is specified with reference to the first storage means based on the link guide specifying information, and the guide point position information and the received vehicle Means for monitoring the distance between the vehicle and the guide point from current position information;
When the distance to be monitored approaches a predetermined distance set in advance, distance guidance specifying information associated with distance information indicating the predetermined distance is specified with reference to the third storage means, and the distance guidance specifying information Means for generating predicted travel distance guidance information based on
Means for identifying and extracting the distance guidance information with reference to the fourth storage means based on the distance guidance identification information included in the generated predicted travel distance guidance information;
Means for outputting the extracted link guidance information and distance guidance information in combination;
The computer program according to claim 5, further causing the computer program to function.

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